Digital Forensics Basics: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners: An Open-Source Approach (Second Edition)

Whether you’re a student new to cybersecurity or an enthusiast eager to explore the world of digital investigations, Digital Forensics Basics: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners offers a hands-on, open-source guided journey into the core principles and tools used in the field. Designed by educators and researchers specialized in digital forensics, this beginner-friendly book emphasizes practical application through detailed tutorials and real-world lab exercises.

From number system conversions and Linux command-line mastery to USB image analysis, remote disk acquisition, regular expressions, and steganography, each chapter provides clear, structured walkthroughs for foundational forensic techniques. Readers will gain experience with industry-standard tools like Autopsy, the Sleuth Kit, FTK Imager, Wireshark, and Scalpel, making it an ideal companion for self-learners, instructors, and training programs.

Key topics include:

• Data representation and encoding (binary, hex, ASCII, UNIX time)
• Linux forensics and shell scripting
• USB disk imaging and deleted file recovery
• Network forensics with Wireshark and tshark
• Regex and metadata search techniques
• File carving, steganography, and anti-forensics detection

All materials are open source and freely available on GitHub for use in labs, classrooms, and cybersecurity workshops (https://github.com/frankwxu/Digital-Forensics-Basic-Book).

Whether you’re looking to launch a career in digital forensics or integrate practical labs into a cybersecurity curriculum, this comprehensive guide empowers you to develop essential skills with confidence.